Editing Unity in VR with EditorXR

In this chapter, we have learned about the Unity Editor—a tool for creating 3D scenes and projects on a 2D computer screen. We also learned a bit about Blender—a tool for creating 3D assets on at 2D computer screen. Then we progressed to the new generation of 3D asset creation tools in virtual reality including Tilt Brush and Poly. Now we'll explore creating VR scenes directly in virtual reality too!

Unity EditorXR (EXR) is a new experimental feature of Unity (at time of writing) where you can edit your 3D scenes directly in VR rather than on your 2D monitor. In this section, we may be getting ahead of ourselves in more ways than one. This is both an advanced topic and an experimental one. If you are just getting started with VR, or if you are just getting started with Unity, you may want to skip this topic for now and come back at a later time.

EXR is an advanced topic because it assumes you are comfortable with using the Unity Editor windows, are used to thinking in 3D, and are somewhat experienced in working with 3D assets. It also assumes you have a VR rig with tracking hand controllers, like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. You will need a powerful PC with a high-end graphics card if you hope to have any chance of a smooth, comfortable experience. And last but not least, some of EXR's user interaction conventions take some learning and getting used to.

Despite that, EXR is a pretty sweet project that you could start using today to be productive. Especially if you're not afraid of software that is experimental. This also means that the UI we describe in this book is certainly subject to change. (For example, at this moment in time the package is being rebranded from EditorVR to EditorXR and EXR). Current links to information include:

• Getting started presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1THBAjLV267NVvZop9VLuUSNx1R2hyp8USgOc8110Nv8/edit#slide=id.g1e97811ad3_2_17
• Getting started documentation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xWunGC3NJoDRBBz44gxpMUAh3SmedtNK12LqACyy2L0/edit#heading=h.9hlhay6ebu98
• EditorXR community forum: https://forum.unity3d.com/forums/editorvr.126/
• GitHub repository: https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/EditorVR

Another reason EXR is an advanced topic this early in this book is that we need to enable VR in our project, a topic we do not get to until the next chapter. But we'll walk you through it now quickly without a lot of explanation.